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The Oscars Red Carpet: “Who are you wearing?”

The Oscars red carpet was first introduced at the Academy Awards, in 1961 when the rug’s redness was still not discernible to at-home viewers of the black-and-white broadcast.

At that time, the event’s organizers install the red runner as a practical way of guiding the year’s nominees from their cars to the ceremony door at the event’s venue.

The history of the Oscars red carpet continues at the 1964 Oscars broadcast when the organizers seemed to forecast how significant the pre-ceremony star studded parade would become. That year, Academy producers opted to begin the broadcast with more than a quick exterior shot of nominees filtering into the auditorium.

At this point, and for the 30 years following, there was little to no Oscars red carpet interaction between the stars and the reporters who were there to chronicle their evening. The moment it changed: the Barbra Streisand suit moment – her sequined, see-through Scaasi pantsuit in which she accepted her 1969 Oscar for Funny Girl. After that bold podium moment, stars began differentiating their red-carpet looks via their varied fashion senses.

Barbara Streisand, 1969 Oscars

Today, the Oscar red carpet is a massive 16,500 sq ft, takes two days to install, and is the focus of an ever more fearsome media frenzy each year. And the question on everybody’s lips is “Who are you wearing?”.

The iconic ruby carpet denotes HIGH status, style and opulence. It conjures up dazzle and glamour. Nowadays it is the focus of the contemporary Oscars experience and the cornerstone of today’s awards ceremonies, gala events and premieres around the world.

Showmanship is the essence of the Hollywood red carpet, and the red carpet appearances that have gone down in history tend to be the unique moments of bold display and swagger.

The iconic red carpet sets the movie stars who step on it apart from us mere mortals. This year Academy Awards celebrates the 90th Oscars edition. Thus, the presure is even bigger to stand out. Here are some of the most confident, flamboyant, provocative and individualistic looks seen on the red carpet during history.

The long road that is awards season will come to an end March 4, when the 2018 Oscars—hosted, for the second year in a row, by Jimmy Kimmel—announces a new class of winners.

So, who will walk away with Oscar gold on Sunday night? Below, we make our bets when it comes to best pictures nominees, best actor and best actress.

BEST PICTURE

Call Me by Your Name

Darkest Hour

Dunkirk

Get Out

Lady Bird

Phantom Thread

The Post

The Shape of Water

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

This year, the best picture—the biggest prize of all—is up in the air. And our favorite is: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”, a tragicomedy that has garnered both acclaim and plenty of controversy. It was from the start seen as a protest symbol, with Rose McGowan, who’s been active in speaking out against Harvey Weinstein, after he allegedly assaulted her in 1997. The movie is meaningful significance of absolute rage in a time when our culture is finally beginning to let people be angry.

Even so, as great as Three Billboards is at legitimizing and celebrating women’s rage, it’s remarkably bad at dealing with race. And its momentum going into awards season is proof of how bad Hollywood is at focusing at more than one social issue at a time. In a year in which we weren’t faced so visibly Hollywood’s systemic misogyny, maybe Three Billboards would have been quite such a big story. Timing feels like the biggest and most important factor for me here, as this year is “gender year”.

BEST ACTRESS

Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water

Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Margot Robbie, I, Tonya

Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird

Meryl Streep, The Post

We predict we’ll be watching her give an acceptance speech on Oscar night:

Frances McDormand, an avenging, grieving mother seeking justice at any cost after the murder of her daughter.

BEST ACTOR

Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name

Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread

Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out

Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Ever since we first glimpsed the physical transformation of the lithe 59-year-old Gary Oldman into the lumbering Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour it was clear to us who is the front-runner for Best Actor.

And the weird fact is that Oldman has never won an Oscar!

The red carpet is being rolled out which can only mean one thing – it’s almost time for the Oscars! Hollywood’s biggest night comes this weekend, when the 90th Academy Awards air on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET